The invention concerns a follower member particularly for a valve train of an internal combustion engine or for a fuel injection pump, said follower member comprising a roller mounted on a pin for a running contact against a periodic stroke producer, said roller being mounted with an inner peripheral surface on an intermediate ring extending directly on said pin and forming, together with said pin, an intermediate sliding bearing situated between said intermediate ring and said pin, and said intermediate ring protruding beyond two front ends of the roller.
A follower member of a generic type, configured in the present case as a finger lever for a sliding cam valve train, is disclosed in FIG. 4 of DE 10 2010 005 606 A1. The mounting arrangement of this finger lever in the region of the pin is subjected to considerably higher loads than conventional valve trains. It can be seen that the intermediate ring protrudes laterally beyond the roller. This measure does indeed reduce the contact pressure in the region of the pin but is inadequate for the entire life duration of the follower member.